Type 2 cures -- barely a dream

The treatments described in the preceding sections apply only to type 1
diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the result of insulin resistance or other forms
of improper use of insulin within the body, not in general to an absolute
lack of insulin. Type 2 patients usually have normal beta cells at the start,
with beta cell insufficiency developing later while the insulin use defects
continue. There is nothing on the horizon for type 2 diabetes with promise
comparable to that of beta cell transplants for type 1. The sequencing of the
human genome, completed in 2000, provides information for research which is
likely to help, but that is for the very long term.

This is distinct from the *treatment* of type 2 diabetes, which has improved
quite significantly even since I first wrote the above paragraph. New drugs
are available which improve insulin sensitivity. The UKPDS directly, and the
DCCT indirectly, have convinced many more doctors that intensive treatment
of type 2 diabetes is worth the trouble and expense. Support and education
programs continue to expand. The UKPDS showed clearly that medical nutrition
therapy (MNT, diet with proper medical team support) helps type 2 diabetics
greatly even without weight loss, and so more doctors are providing the
necessary aid.

But all this is treatment, not cure.